Australia Says 157 Asylum Seekers to Be Brought to Mainland

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Australia said 157 asylum seekers
who have been held on a customs vessel for four weeks after
being intercepted at sea will be brought to the mainland, amid a
High Court challenge to the legality of their detention.

The decision to transfer the asylum seekers follows talks
with the Indian government, which will be granted consular
access to the refugees and help determine their identity,
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said at news conference in
Sydney today.

“It is our intention, those who can be returned, should
and must be returned,” Morrison said. “We are in further
discussions with the government of India regarding enhanced
cooperation on people smuggling.” The two nations prime
ministers are also due to meet in September, he said.

Morrison denied the transfer was a climbdown for Prime
Minister Tony Abbott’s government, which has prevented any boats
carrying asylum seekers from reaching Australia’s shores for six
months. Those intercepted in Australian waters are now either
returned to their nation of origin or detained in offshore
processing camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

The asylum seekers “will not be resettled in Australia,”
Morrison told reporters today. “There is no change to our
policy on any front.”

The case is due before a full bench hearing of the High
Court next month. Lawyers for the government argued in a July 8
High Court hearing that the asylum seekers had no right to stay
in Australia as their boat didn’t reach its migration zone, the
Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported at the time.

“The Australian government has been compliant and
cooperative with the High Court, and that action,” Morrison
said. “We’ve given a series of undertakings which we have
honored in every element, and we will continue to do so.”